Director hits out in Disney row

Australian director P. J. Hogan has revealed that Walt Disney Pictures was kicked off his new film, Peter Pan, in a dispute over donating the profits to a children's hospital.

"I think the other studios thought, 'How can we be in business with a company that won't give money to sick children?' and they booted them off," he said.

Best known for Muriel's Wedding and My Best Friend's Wedding, Hogan was talking from Los Angeles about his new version of Peter Pan, which was shot largely on the Gold Coast on a budget of almost $US100 million ($135 million).

Starring unknown actors Jeremy Sumpter as Peter Pan and Rachel Hurd-Wood as Wendy, the recently completed film was backed by three Hollywood studios - Universal, Columbia and Revolution.

A report last month said Disney had withdrawn from the film in a dispute over royalties to London's Great Ormond Street Hospital, which was bequeathed the rights to Peter Pan by the play's author, J. M. Barrie.

The studio, which made a famous animated version of Peter Pan in 1953 and a sequel, Return to Neverland, last year, believed it should be exempt from payments to the hospital for sales of spin-off books, board games, soft toys and computer games because it had already made regular contributions for the animated rights.

"We did not want to be in a situation where we were paying twice," said Nina Jacobson, the head of production at Disney.

Hogan has contradicted that claim by saying the studio was kicked off because it refused to pay the hospital.

"I don't know why the Disney Corporation would want to deny the Great Ormond Street Hospital the money they were so obviously due since J. M. Barrie had given them the rights to Peter Pan and Disney has made millions out of the title."

Hogan said he had no regrets about the departure.

"Disney's name would have been good for the film because they made the animated version, but the films are so different . . . I'm glad that we're standing alone."

Hogan added that he considered the famous animated version to be "the usual Disneyfication" of a very powerful play. "Everything powerful and of psychological complexity is left out of the Disney version. Even for a Disney version, it's remarkably bland."

Peter Pan has started previews in the United States. It opens in Australia on December 18.